The Beelzebub Controversy
This is one of the best examples of a passage which appears in Mark and also in the Q material. It is also highly instructive in demonstrating the various ways in which the authors shape their material.
Below I have printed the 3 accounts of the event, from Mark, Matthew and Luke, side by side. The material common to Matthew and Luke (the "Q" material") is printed in bold. The material particular to either Luke or Matthew is printed in red.
Some notes are printed at the end.
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Mark 3 22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons." 23 So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. 28 I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." 30 He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit." |
Matthew 9 22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons." 25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 "Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. 30 "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. |
Luke 11 14 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. 15 But some of them said, "By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons." 16 Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. 17 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. 18 If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. 19 Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 20 But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. Luke 12 |
Notes:
(1) The story presented in the Q material is quite consistent with Mark.
It is easily arguable that Luke retains only the Q version and Matthew uses
both versions (Matthew tends not to ever leave out much). Luke 11:15 seems
to be more similar to Mark 3:22 than Matthew 9:24, but the differences
are slight and the argument could go either way. It is difficult to figure
out which source Luke 12:10b depends on - my guess is Q.
Matt. 9:25-26 and Luke 11:17-18a are obviously Q passages, but they bear an
obvious likeness to Mark 3:24-26. No-one can doubt that this is the same
event told from two different sources.
(2) The material particular to Matthew or Luke is quite easy to explain.
Matthew's purpose is to demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah (a.k.a. "Son of David"). Compare v23
with Matthew 1:1 - "A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of
David, the son of Abraham". Matthew throws in this kind of stuff in
order to emphasise his point.
Luke's additions amount to editorial comments: filling in some details
("setting the scene") (v16) or explanatory notes, where the Jesus'
statement may have been judged to have been cryptic to Luke's readers (v18b).
(3) Luke 'shapes' his material in obvious ways: Matthew 9:30 is
repositioned in Luke - you'll find it in Luke 11:23.
Both Matthew and Luke move significant amounts of material around, mostly for reasons of style.
Luke has also moved the 'punch line' (Matt. 9:32a) to Luke 12:10.
Inserted in between is some other disputes with the Pharisees (all Q
material), giving the final statement more power.
(4) Matthew occasionally exaggerates the stories a bit: the man is blind and mute (9:22) instead of just blind, as in Luke (11:14). Compare Matt. 9:27 with Luke 18:35 - one man in Luke becomes two in Matthew.
(5) Jesus reputation as a exorcist/miracle worker seems quite authentic. Also check Matthew 11:1-5 / Luke 7:17-22. The miracles are not the major issue - they are taken for granted.
(6) Jesus having disputes with the local "authorities" seems well-attested.